Not sick
by TVLadybug
Summary: Jenny's "not sick"... Just a little fluff fic, nothing to do with the "someone's sick" storyline on the show, although it is turning out to have a life of its own, a life that seems to includes major angst.
1. Chapter 1

This is my first story I've uploaded, so please let me know what I can do to improve - you guys are all so great, so I'd love the advice.

Hope you enjoy!

* * *

"I am not sick. Absolutely, 100 not sick." That was the mantra that Jenny Shepard kept chanting over and over in her head. Never mind the fact that her whole body ached, she had gone through enough Kleenex that morning to supply the whole Navy, and she felt like her head was underwater. In spite of all the evidence, she was completely and totally sure that she could not be brought down by something as mundane as a cold. At least that was what she told herself all morning – and she sort of still believed it – maybe. And she definitely would stick to her story if anyone else asked.

Jenny reached for another Kleenex and sighed with frustration when she realized it was the last one. She tossed the empty box in the direction of the trashcan but didn't have the energy to check and see if she hit her mark. At the same time she hit the button for the speaker to the outer office.

"Cynthia, could you please-"

"Whatcha need Jen? Cynthia's not out there" Jethro spoke over Jen as he came through her door.

"Is there no one who ever even attempted to teach you manners Jethro?"

"Oh, plenty attempted, I just ignored them all." He tilted his head and smiled just a fraction. If she didn't know him so well, she might have even missed it. Jen almost laughed, but even the slight movement made her head pound.

"Jen, you alright? You don't look so good" Jethro's eyes narrowed as he took in her appearance.

"Thanks – you certainly know how to make a girl feel good about her- her-" Jen tried to bite back the sneeze, knowing where it would lead, but she couldn't manage.

"Bless you. No wonder you look so awful – you're sick. You need to be at home, not here."

"I'm not sick! And hey, how do I go from not looking good to looking awful"

"Well, I lied the first time." Jethro had that fraction of a smile again, but this time instead of charming Jen, it just pissed her off.

"Out. Out of my office." When he didn't respond, Jen made to get up from her desk. "Out now." But before she could completely stand up, the room started spinning and she tried to reach for her chair, only to find it not where she expected it. Jethro rushed to her side, but not before Jen ended up on the floor.

"Ok sweetheart, time to get up. We're taking you home" Jethro tried to help her up, even as she pushed him away.

"Don't sweetheart me. And don't "we" me either. There is nothing worse than being condescended to for no reason – I AM NOT SICK. Got it?"

"Fine, at least let me find Cynthia and see if she can get you anything."

"Fine" Jenny unsteadily placed her hand on the back of the desk chair and slowly sank down into it. "And Jethro…"

"Yeah?"

"Before you go find her, could you grab the Kleenex off her desk and toss it this way? I seem to be out"

He slipped out the door and was back in no time. He slowly walked back to her desk, but instead of placing the box in its rightful place, he continued around until he was standing right behind her. He slowly leaned over her and put the box right in front of her face. Jen felt her breath catch. She knew what feelings she could attribute to a cold, and unfortunately these new symptoms could only be caused by one thing, or rather man.

Jethro leaned in even closer, and barely whispered in her ear "Feel better"

With that, he stood up and walked to the door. He was already gone before Jenny replied with a feeble "I'm not sick". When she looked up and realized he was gone, she just continued with "I'm the director – directors don't get sick"

With that, Jenny got up, realizing if she didn't get to MTAC immediately, she was going to be late for a very important teleconference. She must have stood up too fast, because all the sudden the room started spinning and she couldn't stay on her feet. As she sank to the floor, her head hit the corner of the desk and she sank into darkness.


	2. Chapter 2

Jethro didn't know why, but he had this feeling in his gut. Yeah, he knew a lot of people out there doubted that it was a reliable way to go through life, but anyone who really knew him and had firsthand experience with where it can lead, understands that when his gut tells him something, he just has to follow.

Only this time, he didn't know what it was telling him. So Jenny had a cold, big deal. So he used to be able to make her feel better, nurse her back to health, so what? What was he supposed to do? Go up to her office and carry her home? What would that prove? He would get about a foot in her office before she wasted some of that energy she needed to feel better by yelling at him and ordering him back out of her office. So instead of listening to his famous gut, he sat down to write a case report. He was insanely behind on them anyway… at least that's what he told himself.

The only problem was, he was getting nowhere. He'd like to blame it all on his gut, but at the moment, half the blame was also laid on his team, who really weren't working as hard as they should, at least not if they wanted to leave the building sometime before their next shift began. All the sudden he felt something wet and sticky land on his cheek. Before he even pulled it off, he knew he was not going to like it – and Tony was going to like it even less.

"B-boss… hm, um… sorry there. I, uh, I, wwell you see…" Tony gave up trying to explain how the spitball he was aiming at Ziva landing on Gibbs. Instead he attempted to pretend fascination with the case report and began pleading inside his head that Gibbs would spare him.

Ziva just kept looking at her computer screen, with the barest of smirks on her face. She was pretty darn proud at her immaculate timing. She knew that if she threw the wad of paper at Gibbs at just the right instant, he would look up just in time to see Tony send one off in her direction – and fall to whatever conclusion he may.

Gibbs gave up. Somehow he just couldn't get the energy up to walk over and smack Tony, or for that matter Ziva, on the back of their heads. He decided he'd just wait til later. As he looked back at his computer, he realized that he had only typed one sentence in the half an hour since he left the director's office – and it was wrong. Hitting the backspace button with a little too much force, earning himself sideways glances from his three agents, he decided coffee was in order. Somehow it always seemed to help.

"I'm out. If we get a call, you know how to reach me. No one leaves til those reports are finished – and up to standard." Gibbs decided his team may actually get more work done without him pulling down the mood.

Gibbs ignored his gut and pressed the Lobby button instead of the Director's floor. He needed to clear his head, and his favorite coffee shop may do the trick. When he got there the girl behind the counter handed him his usual without so much as a blink. He gave her a half-hearted smile and a "thank you" but left without lingering.

On his walk back to the office, Jethro drank his coffee and tried to pinpoint why he cared so damn much that Jenny had a cold. Hell, it was a cold, not a life-threatening disease. Although as he thought back over the years, he had a sinking suspicion that it had something to do with the way he used to help her recover from those silly little colds.

_Jenny didn't get sick often. In fact, in three years this was the first time he saw her sneeze… and heck, she still turned him on. She had this cute little red nose, and her face was all splotchy, but she was still his beautiful redhead and he didn't care if she never stopped sneezing._

"_Jethro, stop looking at me like that. I feel horrible and you look like you want to take me to bed. Now I know you're a guy, but still – I really doubt I'm worthy to be on the cover of a magazine right now – heck, I doubt I'd do to be on an ad for cold medicine." _

"_No, you darling, are beautiful. Even though I imagine you are a walking pile of germs" He barely hid a smile at her look of horror._

_  
"Hey! That's not fair – I didn't mean to get sick. You can't-" That's as far as she got before Jethro gathered her up in his arms and carried her into the bedroom, gently depositing her on the bed._

"_Now, don't use your energy yelling at me – you need to feel better. Plus, if you have extra energy, I know how you can use it…" When Jen looked as if she might protest, Jethro cut her off _

_by covering her mouth with his hand. Then he placed a kiss on her forehead and started gently pulling the covers and comforter up around her, making sure she was snugly tucked in._

"_I'll just run down and get you some chicken soup. I'll be right back – you want anything else?"_

"_Just you. I don't need soup right now. Right now, just stay here with me. That's what'll make me feel better." Jenny patted the bed beside her and Jethro slid in. He pulled her to him and curled his boy around her. She slowly faded into sleep feeling completely safe and comfortable._

_As wonderful as nursing her back to health, she had a great way of showing she was feeling better. That next morning, Jethro woke to find Jenny nuzzling his ear, and trailing kisses down his neck. He feigned sleep for a little bit, but after a while, he couldn't hold back anymore. He quickly tugged Jenny on top of him._

"_I see you are feeling better."_

"_Well, I guess I am. And you certainly seem to be feeling pretty good yourself."_

_Jethro let out a laugh and pulled her into a deep kiss._

Jethro shook himself out of the past, and realized at least part of why he was in such a funk. He loved helping Jenny feeling better and really, really loved the rewards when he was successful.

When he got back in the building, he told himself he just needed to go let Jen know the case reports were almost done and that he'd have them on her desk soon. Although why this excuse worked in his head, he didn't know, since to-date, he had never checked in with her on paperwork, but he didn't really care. He saw it for the excuse it was, but he didn't really care.

"Agent Gibbs, the Director isn't in her office" Cynthia stopped him with her voice just has his hand had turned the door handle.

"Well, then where is she?"

"Umm, well sir, I don't really know." Cynthia looked sheepishly. "When I got back from lunch, I had a message that her MTAC teleconference was cancelled and when I went in to tell her, she wasn't there. I assume she got the message and went out for a minute."

Gibbs sent a glare at Cynthia, realizing he was probably about to be harsher than called for, but his gut was ready to explode and he needed to take it out on somebody "Since WHEN does the Director go anywhere in the middle of the day. Hell, when does the Director leave this building at night? Fine, if she's not here, and she's not in MTAC, I'll leave a note on her desk." With that, Gibbs threw open the door with a little more force than he should have. He made a mental note to bring Cynthia coffee tomorrow – not so much as an apology, but a peace-offering wouldn't hurt.

As Gibbs walked into Jenny's office, something felt wrong – really wrong. She had been feeling awful earlier, that much was obvious. But he somehow didn't think she would go home, no matter how bad she felt. As Gibbs went around her desk to grab a pen and pad of paper, his heart fell to his stomach, and then leapt into his throat. He saw a pile of red hair and the room started spinning.

"Cynthia! Call 911, and then get Ducky up here right away! The Director's hurt." Gibbs shouted and didn't listen to her response. Then, in a softer voice he sank to the floor by Jen "Jenny, honey, Jenny, can you hear me? Sweetie, I don't know what's wrong, but helps on its way. Jenny, darling?"


	3. Chapter 3

Hopefully I don't mess up any of the medical information – my main source besides classes I've taken was the Mayo Clinic website. Let me know if I am way off base! Oh, and EMT stands for Emergency Medical Technician (paramedics) - just in case.

* * *

Jethro hardly felt time elapse. All he knew was that Jenny was lying in front of him, and it was all he could do to breathe. He just kept calling her name, softly most of the time, but every now and then it would come out strangled or louder than he intended. It was all he could do not to gather her in his arms and shelter her; however, the one thing that kept repeating in his head was his training not to move someone when you don't know what is wrong with them. They could have a spinal cord injury or head trauma and the medical personnel would be much better equipped than him.

Jethro couldn't believe that he was applying this knowledge to his Jenny. All he cared about was if she would be ok. He heard muffled voices in the outer office – at least they sounded muffled to him. Even as they got closer, they still seemed like they were in a tunnel.

"Jethro. Jethro…. Jethro! You need to move" Ducky put pressure on Jethro's shoulder and with careful force pulled Jethro away from Jen. "I need to examine the Director. Cynthia told me that you called for an ambulance, but you were right to also send for me – I may at least be able to give her a preliminary examination to help out the EMTs. Now, Jethro – what happened here? I need to know everything." Even as he was asking the question, Ducky turned back to the Director and began to check her breathing and pulse. He wanted to find out as much about her condition in as short a time as possible.

"I don't know Duck. I came in here earlier and she was feeling really bad. I really thought it was just a cold. If I'd known something would happen to her, I never would have left her side. I went down to the pit for a while and came back up a little later."

"How long Jethro? How long since you saw her last? I need to know as precisely as you can tell me, since that will give us a clear picture of at least the outside time-frame she might have been unconscious" As before, Ducky hardly paused in his examination while he spoke.

"It was at least 30 minutes, but no longer than 40. The EMTs should check with Cynthia to be sure that she didn't see Jenny after me – maybe she would have a better idea of time, but it sounded like she didn't see her after me." Jethro ran his hand down his face and then through his 

hair. He hated feeling this helpless. It wasn't sitting well with him, but he knew there was nothing he could do. "Where is that damn ambulance?"

"Agent Gibbs, the front gate just called up – the crew is here and they are making their way up as fast as possible." Cynthia was relieved to get the call. She respected and liked the director, and was very concerned about the woman she felt she could call a friend.

"About time"

"Jethro, I think I found something. The Director has a large protrusion on the side of her head. Judging from the size and feel, it looks as though it is very recent, and most likely the cause of her unconsciousness." Looking around, Ducky searched for what might have caused such an injury. "Look, here, on her desk. Here is some blood on the corner. And that would about match up with where she fell. You know, this reminds me of a case I had a few years back. I came into a house and there was a man who… Oh, look Jethro. She's moving"

And with that, Jethro tuned the doctor out. His eyes were only for one Jenny Shepard, and none other. As her eyes were moving, slowly under her eyelids, she twitched her hand and let out a low groan. At the same moment, the EMTs came into the room and told everyone to back away so they can assess the scene. Ducky grabbed the arm of the first one and pulled him aside to fill him in on the details he had obtained in his evaluation. The other medical technician came to the side of Jethro and tapped him on the shoulder.

"Excuse me, sir. I need to examine the patient."

"Fine, but I'm not going far. She's just starting to wake up" In the background he could hear Ducky fill both EMTs in on her condition and what had occurred, but nothing really sank in. All he heard were Jenny's half groans as she still struggled to regain consciousness. _Come on Jenny, wake up, you can wake up for me._

Just as those thoughts were racing through his head, her eyes cracked open a hair, and then a little farther. As the light hit her eyes, they sank shut again and she let out another groan. As the EMT leaned over her, she shifted slightly and threw up.

"According to what you have ascertained Dr. Mallard, and Mrs. Shepard's symptoms, it seems she has a severe concussion. Nothing to be incredibly alarmed at in the long-run, but we are certainly going to need to take her to the hospital. Due to the unusually long time she was unconscious and severity of her head trauma, I'm sure the doctors will run a CT scan and do some other diagnostic tests. Would you like to accompany her to the hospital sir? Sir?"

When the EMT laid his hand on Jethro's arm, he jerked back to reality "Say again – sorry, I didn't hear you"

"Would you like to accompany Mrs. Shepard to the hospital in the ambulance? We normally don't allow such things, but she is likely to be disoriented and it may help to see a familiar face. And you are obviously very worried." The EMT saw in the man's eyes the deep concern and love for the beautiful redhead, and suddenly really wanted to make anything happen to keep them together and ease his pain.

"Umm, yes, I'd really like to stay with her for the trip." Then, as an afterthought "It's Director Shepard… not Mrs."

"Right, sorry sir. Okay, Ronny, we need to move Director Shepard now. Can you have someone in the outer office hold the elevator for us?" The first EMT who Gibbs had been talking to called out to his partner and before long they had Jenny on the backboard and then on the gurney, wheeling her out of the office. Jethro walked closely behind them and looked at the back of Jenny's head. Her neck was encompassed in a large foam neck brace and she was completely immobile. She also looked as if she had passed back out, even before they started moving her.

"Jethro, since you're riding with her, I will follow the ambulance in my car."

"No, Duck – take the van, or at least an NCIS issued car. I want you riding with the lights on so that you arrive the same time we do. These guys seem to know what they're doing, but I want you there to tell whoever is taking care of her in the ER everything you know."

"I'll do that Jethro. And Jethro… she'll be alright. You know Jennifer – she's strong." With that, he went down to the garage to check out a car.

The ride to the hospital was entirely too long. Jethro didn't know it could take that long with the siren and the lights going. All he knew was that he needed to be at that hospital with a doctor looking after Jenny. And it needed to be right then.

When they pulled up to the hospital Jethro stayed in the ambulance just long enough for them to get Jenny out, and then he followed right behind. He followed them through the first hallway and the waiting area, and then was promptly stopped by a firm hand and a stern-faced nurse, who spoke with no uncertain tone "Only medical personnel past this point. Sorry sir, you will have to wait out here."

Jethro didn't even pause in his stride. He flashed his badge at her while mumbling something to the tune of "NCIS, protection detail" and hit the button buzzing himself through the doors. The only problem was that when he got back to where they had wheeled Jen there were too many doctors and nurses around to even see her. He imagined that a director of a federal agency created a lot of stress on their parts, seeing how everything had to be perfect.

After watching Jen come in and out of consciousness and even having to watch her throw up a few more times, finally a man in a lab coat stepped away and came over towards Gibbs.

"Hi, you are with Director Shepard, correct?" At Gibbs' nod, he continued, "we are sending the Director up to get a CT scan to check for potential intracranial hemorrhage or pressure - bleeding or swelling in the skull. We think she has a severe concussion, but seems to be suffering no discernable long-term effects at this time. As of her last evaluation, she seemed to be orienting and attending well, but we need to ensure she does not have any lasting brain damage. We will have her back down and admitted to a room in less than a half an hour. If you want to see her 

briefly while we arrange transport, that will be fine, but we will have to ask you to wait outside of the room while she is in the CT scan."

"Thanks – I'd like to see her now"

"She may be disoriented at times, but she seems to be coming around fine"

"Thanks" As Gibbs walked up to Jen, he was just so happy to see that she had her eyes open. As he thought back to earlier today, he realized that in the larger scheme of things, things could have been a lot worse than Jen getting a concussion, but he still was having difficulty catching his breath.

"Hey Jen. How you feeling?" he leaned over her, and just soaked in the sight of her green eyes.

"Well, I've felt better." Her voice came out weak and strangled, but she tried a smile, that morphed more into a grimace as even the smile moved her head too far to bear. "I don't remember what happened, but I'm guessing I'm not here because of my cold"

Even when surrounded by the seriousness of the situation, Gibbs couldn't help cracking a small sideways smile "Ah, so now you admit you were sick!" At Jen's glare, he decided to let her off the hook "Well, we don't know for sure, but it looks like you fell and hit the side of your head on your desk."

"Hmm..." Jen seemed to be half-listening to him and half drifting in and out of sleep. "Hmm, sorry, I just can't seem to get my eyes to focus, or stay open."

"That's ok. You just get some rest – they're going to do some tests and then we'll get you some rest. I'll call the office and see if they need me to do anything while you're out."

At that remark, Jen's eyes flew open, although she immediately closed them slightly so not as much light got through "Don't you dare. I'll be back there soon enough – Cynthia can manage for the afternoon and then we'll…" she lost her trail of thought and began to sink back into sleep. As he saw that, he lightly placed a kiss on her forehead and stepped back to let the doctors get her moving.

Through the darkness Jen thought she felt a light pressure on her forehead, but before she could react, the darkness pulled her back down.

* * *

Jethro was waiting in the hall as they settled Jenny into her hospital bed. The doctor from before came up to him. "We should have the results from the CT scan soon – we had the lab put a rush on them, but it will still take a little time. I am off duty in 15 minutes, but we have an excellent doctor who will be overseeing her case. Dr. Gelfand specializes in head traumas and will be keeping his eye on Director Shepard through the night. I'll send him to see you after I have filled him in on all the particulars."

Jethro was still pre-occupied with Jenny, but something about the doctor's name stuck in his mind. _Where have I heard that man's name before? We must have met somewhere._

"Jethro? Jethro Gibbs? Do you remember me?"

When Gibbs turned around, it sank in – the doctor from his coma. _Tom, Toby, Tad? Something like that._

"It's me. Dr. Gelfand – Todd Gelfand. I treated-"

"Treated me after my coma. Yes, I remember you. Well, I'm glad to see we have someone who knows what they are doing. Nice to see you again. Are you going in to examine the Director?" _Say no, you can't take this case. You need to leave your hands off her._

"Headed there right now. I'll fill you in later on her condition and let you know when you can go in. I won't be long"

Gibbs waited outside her room, but he didn't exactly wait patiently. He did find a hero in the nurse that seemed to have a sixth sense about him and appeared with coffee. As he was waiting, his phone rang. He considered ignoring it, but figured he may as well do something while he waited.

"Gibbs"

"Oh, Gibbs! How's the director! I just heard – you have to tell her we are all thinking about her. I've called the whole building, well maybe not the whole building, but a lot of it to come down and sign a card for her. I'm gonna bring it over later, with flowers, and Burt, cuz Bert always makes her smile. She really probably needs a smile right now, don't you think-"

"Abs. Take a breath. I'm sure she will think that's so nice, but why don't you hold off on the flowers and such till she gets home – that way she'll have a better place to put them. Oh, hey, her doctor's back. I'll call you later – hold down the fort there" Gibbs cut Abby off as Dr. Gelfand stepped back out into the hall.

"Well, she is resting nicely. The CT results came in and it looks as if she does not have any swelling or hemorrhaging, but we may do a repeat scan tomorrow if the external swelling does not go down. She is sleeping now, but I imagine you will want to stay, so I'll leave orders with the nurses not to kick you out after visiting hours. Just try to let her rest, but you can stay near her."

"Thanks. And, hey, I never did have a chance to really thank you for all you did for me."

"Just doing my job. And I'll keep a close eye on Jenny tonight. We'll make sure she's fine"

Gibbs noticed Todd's use of "Jenny", and he didn't want to admit it bothered him – a lot.

* * *

As he walked back in the room, he looked over at Jenny's sleeping form and was glad to see she was looking so peaceful. He placed another light kiss on her forehead and pulled the chair up close to her bed. Jethro didn't spare a moment to think about his sudden inability to leave Jen alone - and the kisses he kept giving her when she was safely asleep and unable to protest, or even know about. He just knew he couldn't see himself going home or anywhere else for a while. Even though it wasn't that late, the day began to wear on him. Just as he started to drift off to sleep, he almost unconsciously sought Jenny's hand with his own, and only when it was safely in his, did he let himself relax and let sleep pull him under.

* * *

That's all for now... this is turning out more "angsty" than "fluffy", but have no fear... more fluff to follow. I found it was rather hard to write fluff when one of the major partners in that fluff was passed out with a concussion! Although, I also must say there is some more angst to come before the fluff, so just have some patience!

* * *


	4. Chapter 4

I'm sure the half of you who even remember this story have given me up for gone, (and I'm sure the other half of you have forgotten me completely!). I've had major computer problems (that of course started during finals week - at the worst possible time). Anyway, I'm literally about 50 stories behind on reading and way behind on writing, so please forgive me! Hopefully, both for this and the sake of my summer semester classes, my computer will stay functional! Anyway, this is fairly short, but I wanted to get it out there - more will come soon.

* * *

Jenny slowly became aware of the quiet beeping in the background. It was steady and wouldn't stop. As she tried to ignore it, she felt the stiff sheets on the bed, the sterile smell in the room, and slowly began to realize where she was. She was having trouble opening her eyes. Something felt off – more off than just being in a hospital. She didn't know how she knew it, but something, or more likely someone, was missing. Her hand felt bare, but she didn't know why. It just felt empty.

"Jen, Jen? Can you hear me? Are you awake?"

Jenny tried to crack her eyes and failed, but as she tried again she could just make out a shadow of a figure standing over her.

"Jethro?"

"No Jen, it's me, Todd. Todd Gelfand."

"Mmm." Jen felt like she was moving through molasses to talk. Her throat was dry and she couldn't get her face to work right. "Todd, what are you doing here?" Her voice came out cracked and each word was an effort to produce.

"I'm your doctor. Well, actually I was overnight… I'm off-duty now, but I didn't want to leave you. I – I've missed you. And now you're hurt… I just didn't want to go home."

"I, umm, Todd, I" Todd cut her off.

"Jen, don't talk now. You really need to rest. The nurses have been waking you every couple hours, so even if you don't remember that, you haven't really had a good rest since you got here. The good news is that the swelling is going down. You should be cleared to leave the hospital later today, or if not, definitely tomorrow, barring any complications." He saw her eyes start to flag. "I'm going to let you get some rest. I'll come back in a couple hours"

"Wait, Todd. Don't go until I've gone back to sleep?" Jenny didn't fully understand why no one else was here, but she knew that she needed someone to stay beside her, even if it wasn't the someone she wanted. Jenny hated hospitals more than most people, and she couldn't get her head wrapped around why she was there and why the one person she wanted to see when she woke up wasn't by her.

Todd reached for her hand and sat down in the chair beside her. The thought went through Jenny mind that it was wrong – his hand didn't feel right in hers, but she was too tired to protest. There was only one name on her mind as she drifted back under, and she stayed confused.

* * *

Jethro watched the scene unfold from his place by the door. He knew it wasn't the nurse's fault he wasn't there when she woke up, but he couldn't help think that if he hadn't listened to her adamant protests that he needed to walk around and get some coffee, he would have been there for her. He had arrived back at her room just in time for Jenny to ask Todd to stay with her. It cut through him like a knife to hear her want someone else by her side. He didn't think he could watch anymore, but he stood glued to his spot as Todd held Jenny's hand and comforted her in a way that she must have needed… and not from him. He turned back to wait in the waiting room instead of by her side. He knew he needed to distance himself from her, or he would end up more hurt than ever.


	5. Chapter 5

Yes, It's me again - the one who never seems to update. I'm just going to beg your forgiveness and ask that you still please continue reading this story and reviewing!! And if you really are upset with me, blame it on my professors who gave me way too many clients this semester and expect me to know what to do :(

* * *

"Wh- what, what happened? Jethro? Where am I? Jethro? J-" Jenny bolted up in bed. She looked around, very disoriented. All the sudden, the events of the past day came rushing back to her – as well as a splitting headache. Jenny sank back to her pillow. She didn't know if she should laugh or cry. Of course Jethro wasn't here, and she didn't know why she even called out to him. She hadn't seen him since much earlier that day, although she couldn't shake the feeling he was around every time she woke up. And instead Todd was there. Why was he there and not Jethro? Well, that should be obvious – he cared for her and Jethro didn't. But just because it was obvious didn't mean it hurt any less. Jenny finally let the darkness pull her back under. After all, it was much easier in the dark – her thoughts were quiet in the dark.

* * *

Jethro took a deep breath as he stepped off the elevator on Jen's floor. He knew he couldn't stay away too long. It would look suspicious if he did. And the last thing he needed was to call attention to himself, or rather attention to his feelings towards Jenny, or his jealousy about Todd. With that, he walked towards Jenny's room. As he slid open the door, he paused when he heard voices.

"I don't care – It doesn't matter what you say, it doesn't matter who I need to talk to, it just plain doesn't matter – I am leaving this hospital today." Jethro recognized Jenny's voice right away, although she didn't sound happy at all.

"Look, ma'am. I'm sorry, but" A woman he assumed was a nurse or aide, sounded apologetic, but firm.

"I don't care how many times you say you're sorry. I AM leaving today. Just call Dr. Gelfand, he'll tell you I can leave."

"Dr. Gelfand is off call now, but it still doesn't matter. Any doctor when given the severity of your concussion is going to tell me that we can't discharge you until you have someone to stay with you."

"Bu-"

"And before you start in on that argument again, a housekeeper is not enough. I need to hear that someone is staying with you OVERNIGHT. Anything else just won't due. Until then, you are not leaving this hospital today. We'll just have to keep you for observations one more night."

"You don't underst-"

"That's not a problem. Director Shepard will be staying with me tonight" Jethro stepped around the bed partition and let himself be seen.

"Excuse me?" Jenny was using her best "Director" voice, but Jethro didn't care. He didn't really know why he volunteered for this job, but now that he did, he certainly wasn't backing down. It had a certain ring to it, and suddenly, it was a plan he was seeing through to the end.

"Oh, well, sir, that sounds like a plan. There are, of course, a few things we will need to talk over with you about your care of Mrs. Shepard. There are some warning signs of complications, etc. so if you will come with me to the nurse's station, that will give Mrs. Shepard enough time to get ready."

"Uh, hey, excuse me. Do I get a say in any of this? If I recall, I am the patient, am I not?"

"Ma'am? Do you want to get out of here today?"

Jenny nodded, and then quickly winced as the movement jarred her head.

"Ok then, there is really no choice for you to make. Because either you are leaving here with this man, or you are not leaving here at all. At least not today."

"Fine"

* * *

Just as Jethro was heading back into the room to tell Jenny that he had all the doctor's orders and see if Jenny still needed more time to get away, he saw Todd Gelfand coming towards him. He really wanted to pretend he didn't see him, but he knew it was too late.

"Hey Jethro. Checking on Jenny?"

"Actually checking Jenny out."

"Excuse me?"

Instead of punching the guy, which, although not something he made a practice of doing, was something he really really wanted to do, he opted for answering him. "The nurse said that doctor's orders were that Jenny could leave today, as long as she had someone to stay with."

"Yeah, I know – I made the orders. Only problem is, Jenny lives alone. And if she played a fast one with the nurse and lied, I'm just going to have to rescind that order-"

"She didn't lie. She's just not going home. She's coming to my home." Something inside Jethro leapt at Todd's face. He wasn't proud of it, but he sure was happy with the look of anger on Todd's face.

"Oh, well, in that case, I'm sure she's in the clear. You mind if I go in and see her for a moment?"

"Why would I mind? Come on in Todd" Jethro held the door open and let Todd go into the room in front of him. He couldn't help but smirk. Something told him that Todd really didn't want an audience, but there was no way he was going to make this easier for the guy.

"Todd! I thought you were off this morning!" Jenny smiled as she saw the doctor walk towards her. "Oh, Jethro, I didn't see you there. Everything check out with the nurse?"

"Yup. We can get out of here whenever you're ready."

"Well, in that case, can you grab the car and pull it around front? The hospital has some stupid policy where they make me ride in a wheelchair to the front. I may as well soak it up for all its worth and have you pick me up."

"Yeah, no problem…" Jethro hesitated, but knew there was no reason for him to stick around. As he headed down the hall, he took undue pleasure in knowing that at least he wouldn't be seeing the doctor any time soon.

* * *

"So, if you're off today, what exactly are you doing here? Don't trust my other doctor?" Jenny smiled at Todd.

"No, you have a great doctor. I had some labs to come by and pick up, so I thought I'd drop in on some patients while I was-. Yeah, that's a lie. I just thought I'd like to come by and see you."

"Oh, well, that's nice. You really didn't have to though. I'm feeling better now."

"Hey, don't lie to your doctor. You have a lump the size of a tennis ball on the back of your head. It can't feel good."

"Ok, well I've had better days then, but it still feels better than yesterday. At least I'm not throwing up every two minutes."

"Yeah, I'm sure that does feel better. But be careful. You've been on some pretty heavy pain meds. You may start to feel a lot worse as the day goes on, so don't do too much. And don't be brave. Those pain meds we prescribed are there for a reason, so take them!"

"Yes, doctor" Jenny quirked a smile at him, and picked up her bag of personal items.

"Hey, I'll take that. And sit down in that chair missy. It's not every day that you get escorted out of the hospital by your doctor, so enjoy it."

Jenny laughed. "You're crazy, you know that?"

"I have been informed of that fact. On that note, can this crazy doctor give you a call later today? Check and see how you are?"

Jenny hesitated. But then she remembered how he had been there for her last night. And she knew the only real reason she hesitated was because she was holding out for someone else. And she had seen where that had gotten her in the past few years. So instead of holding out more, she gave in to what her head was saying – and ignored her heart. "That would be nice Todd. That'd be really nice"

As he pulled her up to the front, he stopped her wheelchair and set the brakes. He saw that Jethro had already brought the car up, so he helped Jenny stand up. "Well then, I'll call you later." With that, he bent and kissed Jenny's cheek, and lingered for just a moment.

Jethro couldn't hear what they were saying, but he did see the kiss, and just how intimate they looked. He looked away and saw that his knuckles were white from the pressure he was squeezing the wheel with. He stared straight ahead as he heard the passenger door open, Jenny settle in, Todd say goodbye, and the door close. Without a word, he spun the tires out of the parking lot, and turned home. He heard Jenny groan slightly as her head hit the headrest, and Jethro eased off the gas. As much as he needed to let some frustration off, he wasn't going to do it at the expense of Jenny's comfort.

* * *

Jenny didn't really know what, but she knew that something was up. And she was not going to be the one to break the deafening silence in the car. All she knew was that it was going to be one long day if this kept up – and one very long night.


	6. Chapter 6

Wow, its practically a miracle! This is me, updating _without_ uncountable weeks in the middle! I think I deserve a reward... so you can thank me by saying wonderful things to me in wonderful reviews... or money, I'll always take money ;) I have a feeling you'll all be picking the reviews, but it was worth a shot!

* * *

It had been at least 20 minutes since anyone had spoken, and although Jenny really wanted to hold out longer than him, she had a burning question that would not stay in any longer.

"Where the hell do you think you are taking me?" Even Jenny was a little shocked at just how harsh the question came out – it must have had something to do with the silence – it kind of built itself up until it just came out, with no care for how horribly she said it.

Jethro just quirked his mouth and replied "What do you mean? I'm taking you home."

"No… no, you're not. You're taking me to _your_ home. You were supposed to take me to _my _home. I'm the sick one here – I should be at my home with my things so that I can get better. I mean, when you don't feel good, you aren't going to want to be in someone else's house, with someone else's…" Jenny's voice trailed off as she realized Jethro was laughing. He was laughing at her! And she just wasn't in the mood. Todd had definitely been right when he said that the medicine would wear off with time. And it hadn't even been that long at all.

"What the hell is so funny? I fail to see exactly why you- WHAT?" Jethro's laughter had just gotten louder as she got madder.

"So now, now when you want something, now you say you're sick?"

"Wh- Oh, well – all I meant was that my head hurt. You remember? The concussion?"

"Yeah, well, it sounded suspiciously like you meant more than that, but whatever. And we're only going to my house so that _I_ can get some of _my_ things. We're still going to your house for the night."

"Um, Jethro, about that. You really don't need to come stay with me. I promise I'll be fine. I really don't need a babysitter all day and all night."

"Nope, no way. That nurse practically made me swear on a Bible. And I may not be afraid of many things or people, but that nurse was adamant, and no way am I crossing her. She made a point to mention that she's a marine, and if there is one thing I don't mess with, it's a marine. And if there's one thing I _really_ don't mess with, it's a marine who is feeling protective of her patient. So, sorry, you're stuck with me."

"Ok, fine, it get that – you don't want to piss her off. Now, how about a compromise. You go to work, or stay at home or something for the day – then you can come over tonight. The main thing is really that I don't fall asleep and never wake up tonight, right?"

"Like I said before – you're stuck with me. They have you on these pain meds and you could have a reaction, or just get worse." Jethro pulled into the driveway and stopped the car, but didn't make a move to get out. "So here's your choice. You either suck it up and live with me as your houseguest for 24-48 hours, or I drive you back to the hospital. What's it gonna be?"

"Fine, go get your stuff. I'm just going to stay here." Jethro got out and jogged into his house. "Wait! 24 – _48_ hours. This was only supposed to be a one night kinda thing. Crap, maybe I should have just stuck to the hospital. Well, having him around can't be worse than hospital food, those horrible gown-things, that smell... Why am I talking to myself?"

_Ok Jennifer Shepard, just because you have a head-injury, it doesn't mean you need to go mental or something._

Although she had a sneaking suspicion that it wasn't as much the head injury as Leroy Jethro Gibbs that would drive her crazy. As she saw him emerge from the house carrying his duffel bag and looking entirely too sure of himself, she realized that if she made it through the next day, or possibly what might now be days, she was going to deserve a medal. It wasn't even so much him – the problem was going to be how much she secretly loved having him around. Because unfortunately she had experience with Gibbs taking care of her when she was sick, and it was a force to be reckoned with. And it wormed its way into her heart, and that was just something she couldn't afford now. But all the sudden, it all came back, and she wasn't sitting in his car – she was back in a little hole in the wall apartment with who she thought at the time was the love of her life.

* * *

"_Jenny. Jenny, wake up. Just for a second, ok?"_

_Jethro's voice pulled Jenny out of her sleep. As she cracked her eyes, she quickly closed them. Even the little light they had on in the bedroom hurt. She knew it was just a cold, she knew she should suck it up and deal with it, but it honestly hurt – all of her. Her head hurt, her eyes hurt, her whole darn body hurt. And there was Jethro, being so uncharacteristically sweet, so what was the harm in sleeping? Plus, it didn't help that she was thousands of miles away from everything that was comfortable and familiar to her – all the things you want when you plain aren't feeling good._

"_Jenny, just open your eyes for a little bit. I'll let you go back to sleep soon. But you haven't eaten anything today…. Come on Jen. I made you chicken soup."_

_With that, she cracked an eye – and quirked an eyebrow. "Really? You made me soup?"_

"_Ok, well, not exactly… But I did heat it up, just for you."_

_At least that got Jenny to laugh. As she pulled herself up to sit, Jethro helped pull the pillows up behind her. "Ok, fair enough. You heated me up soup without burning down the apartment, so I'll eat it._

_Jethro laughed, "Hey, I do what I can."_

_As Jenny ate the soup, it actually did make her feel a little bit better. And gave her just enough energy to realize what would make her feel a lot better._

"_Hmm, I know exactly what I want now. Maybe I should make that what I need now – a nice hot shower."_

_Jethro wiggled his eyebrows at her, "You need help?"_

"_Nice try, but no. This is going to be one of those 5 minute, in and out showers – I just need the steam and warmth, thank you very much. You join me, and we'll never get out. And take that smirk off your face... I don't need any remarks about how you can be in and out in 5 minutes, how you can provide warmth, blah blah blah - I get it, but it ain't happening, so you'll live"  
_

"_Yeah, well, if you change your mind, I'm right here."_

_After Jenny's "5 minute" shower which morphed into 20 or so minutes, she crept back into the bedroom and found Jethro asleep across her bed. Jenny smiled. 'Hmm, that "cooking" experience must have really worn him out' Although she thought back to the past day and realized that he had been running around like crazy to do both of their jobs on the mission so that nothing would be compromised, as well as take care of her. No wonder he was worn out. And no wonder she loved him.  
_

_Jenny slowly sank onto the bed so as not to disturb him, and curled up under his arm. Hell, she thought, who cares about giving him germs, this is the best medicine I could ask for._

* * *

"Jenny, Jen, Director!"

"Hmm, what? Oh, sorry Jethro. I guess I didn't hear you."

"Didn't hear me? Jen, I've been calling your name for the past minute. A tree could have heard me. You were a million miles away – what were you thinking about?"

"Hmm, oh, nothing. Sorry, what'd you need?"

"We're here." Jenny looked up and realized that she had missed the whole drive from his place to hers, and sure enough, they were in her driveway.

"Any chance you've changed your mind and are just dropping me off?" At the look on his face, Jenny lost all hope of that. "Nope, didn't think so. Well, come on in." As Jenny walked up to her house, she hoped against hope that this day would fly, or that at the very least, her pain meds would knock her out and she'd wake up when this whole thing was over. Somehow, she just didn't think it was going to go her way.


End file.
